A Different Kind Of Life
by demonicfaerie2009
Summary: What would happen if the Supernatural world weren't going on around the Winchester's? Rated M for language and explicit scenes in later chapters.
1. The Accident

Dean slammed his cell down on the counter, grumbling darkly. What is it about that woman that could infuriate him so damned badly. Every single time that they got on the phone together, someone said something that set the other one off and it ended in a fight. They never seemed to agree with one another over what was best for their son. Ben was almost twelve years old, now, and Dean only got the chance to see him, really see him, on the school holidays and over summer break. He tried to make it to see his son more often, but sometimes it was difficult; After all, it was a long drive from Lawrence, Kansas to Cicero, Indiana and between work and wedding planning and.. God, everything else he hardly found the time.

With another grumble slipping passed his lips he picked up the phone and redialed. "Why in the hell'd you hang up on me?" He snapped into the receiver.

"Because you don't listen! All you want to do is dictate everything for Ben." A shrill voice responded.

Dean rolled his emerald eyes up toward the ceiling as he paced the kitchen floor, his black leather work boots thunking quietly along the wood floor. "I listen just fine, Lisa. I just don't understand why he can't go out for the football team. I already told you that if money's the issue I can cover it."

"It's not the money, Dean. You know that with his asthma it's a bad idea."

"Not if he has his inhaler. Come on, he was begging me to say yes and then damn near cried when you told him no." Dean stated in aggravation, trying to get the woman to see reason. How in God's name had he fallen for her, again? Oh yeah, that's right.. bendy. He'd done the best he could to take care of Lisa and Ben from the moment he'd found out that she was pregnant. Sure, he was scared as hell to deal with it all, he was a 21 year old mechanic working for his dad with no health insurance and she'd been a 20 year old waitress. But he'd pulled through and taken care of the both of them, right up until six years ago. They fought like cats and dogs about everything since they'd learned she was carrying a boy. Anything that had to do with Ben was sure to cause some sort of argument between them. Lisa had gotten tired of the yelling, the screaming and had begun what seemed like a friendship with some guy in med school. He was drawn out of the memories by Lisa's impatient sigh before she started in again.

"Even with the inhaler. He could have an attack out of nowhere and no one know what he needs. He'd be safer in basket ball, or maybe even tennis.." She trailed off, knowing that Dean was once more rolling his eyes. "Boring sports... seriously? You really think he'll go for that? Lisa, come on, it's not that big of a deal. I'll call the coach myself if I have to. Warn him about Ben's asthma and make sure that he's always got one."

"Why do you always have to make me the bad guy?" She snapped out. Dean let out a sigh, leaning back against the kitchen counter and looking at the wall clock over the doorway.

"Because you're too overprotective of him? Because I let him do things that might hurt him but he wants to do? Or maybe it's because you know he'd be better off here" He suggested causing her to instantly being spitting curses into the phone before hanging up quickly. A faint groan fell out as he shook his head, then pushed off the counter and dropped the phone into his shirt pocket. He knew that it was probably a bad idea to mouth off to Lisa like that, but sometimes she just knew how to irritate him.

He stepped over to the refrigerator to grab a beer from the top shelf and, opening it, headed for the living room. He stared out of the front window, watching the cars slowly slip past the house for some time. He enjoyed days off from work, but not when there was absolutely nothing to do. Dean was the kind of guy who liked to be kept busy at almost all times, one of those almost never sleeping guys because there was always something on his mind. Today, however, he had nothing to do. All the household chores had been done early this morning. He sighed quietly, just as a voice called out behind him.

"Dean? Dean? Hellooo. Dean!" The girl finally called, causing him to blink out of his stupor. Jo's brows shot up with a questioning expression. "Where'd you go?" She asked, stepping closer.

"Tahiti?" He joked, grinning.

"Ha ha. Did my mom call?" Jo called over her shoulder as she walked back to the kitchen, her long blonde curls bouncing with each step and Dean couldn't help but to be momentarily mesmerized. Every time. Shaking his head to clear it Dean followed. "Nope, Lisa called, though!" He exclaimed in a false cheerful tone. Jo stopped at the counter, turning back toward him with an arch forming in her pale brow as if to tell him to go on. "Apparently I'm a crap father for encouraging him to go out for the football team." He stated, while his fiance began putting away the groceries.

Jo and Lisa had met a grand total of four times in the entire three years he'd been seeing her and neither woman seemed to like the other. Jo loved Ben, though, and Ben loved her. It was more than he could say for Matt, Lisa's new husband. Ben seemed to hate the doctor.. and Dean didn't protest it one little bit. The wedding was four months away and Ben would be here for summer break. Sadly, that meant that Lisa and Matt would be here. He and Jo had planned the wedding for around the same day that Ben would have to leave to go back to Indiana for the start of school so that they could go on their honeymoon right after.

"Oh, and apparently Lisa and Matt are staying here." He stated, glancing down at the floor a moment.

"When?" Jo asked, slowly turning back toward him.

"Three days before the wedding.." He grumbled and shifted his gaze to the floor.

"What?! You did not agree to that, Dean Winchester!" She demanded, eyes wide.

"She said if she came up early it was either her and Matt stay here in the guest room or Ben has to go stay at the motel with them. I kinda want to spend as much time with him as possible before he goes back." He stated, laying on the guilt as he looked up at her through his lashes.

Jo sighed and threw her hands up in surrender, "alright, alright. I'll deal with her for a couple days. But I swear to God if she makes any sort of scene at the rehearsal dinner, the wedding or the reception I will put my boot in her ass." She growled, and with the look on her pale face Dean knew she meant it.

That was one of the reasons he'd fallen so hard for the petite blonde. She was so damned feisty and it was a helluva turn on. She felt a pair of large hands come to a rest on her waist and slowly leaned back against his chest as his fingertips caressed her stomach. "I promise that she'll be on her best behavior." He whispered as his lips left a warm trail down the side of her neck, bringing a soft moan from her.

After another short series of kisses the blonde squirmed out of his grasp. "Uh-uh, your parents are going to be here soon and I have to get dinner done." She stated, though obviously wished that she could just forget about the steak thawing on the counter. "Out, out, out. Go call... Sam or something.." She said while gently pushing him away.

Dean let out a mock groan of frustration before stepping back away from her and regaining his beer from the counter, then heading toward the living room to attempt to find something on TV.

Ben sighed, listening at the door to his mothers room at the conversation between she and his father. He could tell without even hearing Dean's side that things weren't going all that well. Which meant another call to his dad later tonight. He'd said it once before, though no one had taken him all that seriously, that he wanted to go and live with Dean rather than stay here with mom and Matt. Sure, Matt was an okay guy, but Ben would have preferred to be with his dad. Dean was the one who understood him best.

When his mother began screaming and swearing he knew it was a lost cause; Usually by this point she was so fed up with talking to Dean that she hung up and refused to talk to him for days. Even as a pre-teen, Ben thought it was childish of his mother. Of course, she only had his best interest at heart, but he would never know what he could do unless he was able to give it a shot. Sadly, his mother didn't agree with him. His eyes rolled, a trait he'd picked up from Dean, as he pushed off the wall and headed back to his own room.

His laptop chimed, sitting open on the desk, to alert him of a message and Ben responded by dropping into his chair. A smile twitched his lips as Krissy's name popped up, asking to Skype with him. Quickly clicking 'OK' he tipped the screen enough so that the girl could see him. "Hey!" He said with a smile tugging on his lips.

"So? How'd it go?" The raven-haired girl asked quietly, not sure how far Lisa was.

"Not good. Mom started screaming at dad over the phone, then cussing.. and probably hung up by now. I wish I knew what he said." Ben laughed as he raised a hand and brushed it back through his short, dark hair.

Krissy Chambers had been his best friend since he'd moved to Cicero, the girl was one of the few who'd never picked on him for his short stature, instead defended him to all the bullies. No joke, this girl was tough. She may have been younger than him by a year, but for the longest time she was bigger than he was. Of course, this last growth spurt had shot him up to an inch taller than the girl. Truth be told, he had a bit of a crush on the girl who stuck up for him more times than he could count. He wouldn't admit it, though.

"Your dad is bad-ass, Ben." She remarked, earning a quick glare from him. As soon as she realized the word had slipped from her lips she made a face and glanced around her to be sure her father hadn't overheard. Ben did the same.

"Yours is too."

"Yeah, but my dad would never stand up to my mom like yours does."

Ben shrugged his slender shoulders in response just before he heard the muffled footsteps coming toward his room. He flashed Krissy a quick look and a wave before closing the lid to his laptop and grabbing his Math textbook only seconds before his mom stuck her head in the doorway. "Ben, can we talk?"

"Yeah, mom." He said as he set the book back down, thankful that his mother hadn't noticed the book had been upside down.

"Honey, you know that we love you, right?" Lisa asked him, her dark brown eyes boring into his. He said nothing, merely nodded. The boy already knew right where this was going. "Then you know why I'm worried about you trying out for the football team, right?" She asked now, earning nothing more than a shrug from her son. "Besides, try outs are a week away and you'll be at your father's for most of summer training." Lisa hoped that pointing that out would discourage him.

"Dad can work on teaching me. He knows how to play." He mumbled without meeting his mother's gaze.

"Your dad can't teach you the plays the coach might want, Ben.." She said with a little frown touching her lips. Lisa hated to see her son so upset over a choice she made.

"Right.. I've got homework to do.." Ben stated, turning away before she could say anything else. Truthfully, he hadn't even had to bring any home since he'd done it in class. He was smart for his age which was probably another reason he got picked on, and all the more reason he wanted to go out for football.

Lisa sighed, frowned and stood. Her fingers carded through his short hair as she made her way out the door. No sooner had she left and Ben slid the screen back up and found Krissy waiting, frowning since she'd heard it all.

Jo let out a sigh as she leaned against the counter, wiping a faint line of sweat from her pale brow. John and Mary were supposed to be here in less than ten minutes, but she knew how Mary was. The woman loved being early and loved trying to help Jo in the kitchen, as if the blonde didn't know what to do. She worked in a bar for Christ's sake. Well, used to, anyway. Had to pay her way through college, right?

Dean had gone into the living room and dropped onto the couch as soon as he'd been able to slip away. Most likely he'd turned on some game and had fallen into a stupor. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened and she doubted that it would be the last. The blonde pulled on a pair of oven mitts and quickly reached in to pull out the chicken, rice and broccoli with cheese she'd baked, setting it on top of the stove before pushing off of the counter to set the table. "Dean?" She called, attempting to reach the wine glasses on the top shelf. "Dean?" She called a little louder. With a grunt of frustration she moved to the doorway. "Dean!"

"Hmm?" Finally, he turned.

"Where'd you go this time?" She asked, but then thinking better of it, "I need help."

He made a little face but hauled himself off the couch, following her back to the kitchen and grabbing the glasses she couldn't reach while she complained behind him, "we need a step ladder."

"No, you just need to grow." He teased, even though he knew how she hated jabs at her height. Jo glared over at him before snubbing her nose in the air, grabbing the glasses and taking them to the table. "Eat your veggies and one day you'll grow to be big and strong like me!" He said again as he slipped behind her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and drawing her back against his chest.

"Stop it." She commanded, sounding irritated. He knew that he was pushing buttons, but simply couldn't help himself. Dean pinned her against his chest, holding her arms at her sides and smirking into her hair.

"I knew I was in for trouble when I got engaged to a hobbit." His tone teasing once more as he kissed the side of her head.

"I mean it Dean, cut it out." Her jaw was set in annoyance.

Dean grinned as his lips connected with her cheek. "A pretty hobbit, though. The prettiest in the whole village!" He continued pressing kisses against her cheek until a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Get off me.." Jo tried to sound commanding once more, though failed with the faint giggle that fell from her lips when he kissed across her face. "Stop," she laughed, squirming out of his grip.. or attempting to, anyway.

He laughed and finally released her. When she took a step away he thought better of it, grabbing the girl and pulling her to him so that he could press a soft kiss to her mouth. Jo returned it, her hands sliding up to catch in his hair, dragging herself to stand on tip-toe and pressing her lips harder against his. She giggled again as his hands trailed over her, igniting little flames wherever his flesh touched hers. The two only broke apart at the sound of a knock on their front door. "That'd be your parents." She breathed while extracting herself from his hold.

Dean winked down at his fiance, "to be continued." His brows wiggled suggestively, then turned to go and let them in, hesitating when he saw the officers at the front door.

"Garth? What's going on?" He asked the male officer. Dean had known Garth since High School and although the guy was a little too sensitive, he was admittedly a pretty good guy. Jodi Mills, the officer at Garth's side, was closer to his mother's age. She'd arrested Dean a couple of times in his younger years for bar-room fights and underage drinking. She'd also been to his house a number of times to break up arguments between he and Lisa.

Garth, a skinny little guy who really didn't look like much, frowned and shook his head. His light brown hair blew gently in the wind, dark eyes glancing to the ground. He didn't seem able to choke the words out which caused Dean to turn his attention onto the female officer with a questioning look. Jo had come up behind him, stopping several feet back and watching with a brow raised in concern. Jodi cleared her throat and nervously tugged at her dark ponytail. "Dean.. there's been an accident." She stated and, when Dean's brows knitted together, swallowed hard. "It's your parents."


	2. The Wait

**I do not own Supernatural nor any of it's characters, just what happens in my own head.**

**Warning: Rated M for explicit content.**

* * *

Sam Winchester let out a slow breath as he dropped to Jessica's side. Her pale eyes turned onto his face, smiling widely. Her blonde hair fell in a mess of damp curls around her face, a sheen of sweat covering her brow. Her chest heaved gently while panting, causing his hazel eyes to follow the movement of her breasts under the sheet.

"Stop staring, perv." She teased, reaching over to playfully turn his head away.

He laughed and looked back at her, brow raising as an arm hooked around her slender waist, quickly drawing her closer. "How can I be a perv if I'm watching my own wife?" The man questioned, his gaze drifting slowly from her pale eyes down to the gently moving mounds under the sheet. Jessica cupped his cheek, turning his gaze back onto her face with a tender smile, then leaned up to press a kiss to his mouth. Sam wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer as he felt that twitch in his groin. His tongue brushed across her lips before darting into her mouth and moving against her own. Jessica shifted enough under him to wrap one leg up around his waist.

His hand cupped her breast, squeezing gently to elicit a moan into his mouth. Her back arched when his thumb brushed across the nub of her breast, moaning again. Every nerve was still sensitive and of course Sam just had to tease her again. She knew that he would finish the job, but it came down to the matter of both of them needing to get back to work. He had a case waiting for him at the courthouse, and she was supposed to be meeting with the contractors about the new office. As his lips trailed down her throat she forgot about work. When his fingers drew a line from her breast to her abdomen the world began to slip away.

Jessica could hear the phone ringing in the distance. It was actually only three feet from her head, but she was so lost in Sam's mouth and hands that she couldn't focus on it. The phone rang three times before their answering machine picked up, a cheesy little greeting of her and Sam together. The loud beep sounded, signaling the caller to leave their message. A shaky breath could be heard before Dean's strained voice sounded over the machine.

"Sammy.. I..." Dean sniffled into the reliever, attempting to steady his voice so that Sam wouldn't hear the tears that were building. "Sam," he began again, "there was an accident. It's pretty bad. Mom and Dad are... Sammy they might not... Dammit."

Sam had already extracted himself from Jessica and raced to grab the cordless phone. "Dean! What...?"

"Get here.. Sammy.. I.. I can't.."

"I'm on my way." Sam said before he heard Dean choke on a sob and end the call. He quickly tossed the phone down before digging into his dresser for clothes. Without a word to the blonde in the bed he pulled his boxers on, then grabbed a pair of faded blue jeans.

"Sam..?" She questioned, slowly pulling herself off the bed. When the tall man finally turned toward her she could see the worry and panic in his face. "I'll call the courthouse and the office. Someone else can take over the case for you." She stated, quickly yanking on her own clothes.

Sam said nothing still, but grabbed his t-shirt and yanked it over his head. As soon as his shoes were in place he grabbed a couple handfuls of clothes and shoved them into a dufflebag, glancing toward his wife told him that she had done the same. She offered a gentle smile, grabbed her keys, and walked them to the car.

* * *

Dean dropped the phone into his lap before burying his face into his hands. Jo frowned lightly as she reached out a hand to gently grasp his. She hated seeing Dean upset over anything, especially since he was rarely emotional like this. She held tightly to his hand as he kept his face hidden from her. "Do you want me to call Adam?" She asked quietly. Unfortunately, the blonde already knew the answer. Regardless of how upset Dean was he would play the tough guy and make the call.

He sniffed and shook his head without moving his hands. "No, I got it." He responded gruffly. He was barely keeping it together as the panic and worry set in. He didn't even know what had happened other than there had been a car accident. It would take Sam most of the day to get here, Adam on the other hand lived only a couple hours away. Taking in a steadying breath he picked the phone back up with shaky hands and dialed his youngest brother's cell number. With bloodshot eyes he looked at the clock, wondering if Adam would even answer.

The youngest Winchester spent most of his time working and rarely seemed to have his cell on. It surprised him when Adam's voice came over the line. "I'm already on my way, Dean. Garth called me. I'll be there soon." Dean could hear the roar of his brother's engine sounding loudly in the background just before his brother hung up the phone to concentrate on the road. Dean let out a heavy breath and dropped the phone back into his lap. He'd have to remember to send Garth something for that.

Jo reached out to card her fingers through her fiance's hair, then snuggled into his side while whispering comforting words. Of course, not much seemed to work since Dean kept his face buried in his hands. Lawrence wasn't a very large town, bigger than some in the area, but still small enough that everyone knew everyone else's business. If you'd lived in Lawrence for a year, chances were you'd said 'hi' to each person in town at least once.

Which was why it was little shock when a female voice rang out to their right. "Dean?" Both heads turned toward the red-headed woman who stood with her hands wrapped around a chart. Pale green scrubs covered her thin frame, making the red of her hair seem much more vibrant. Her dark brown eyes locked onto Dean's face before looking toward Jo. She looked sad and that made both of their hearts clench painfully.

Dean launched himself to his feet, "what's going on? Are they okay?" He asked quickly. Anna Milton nodded softly, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his arm.

"We don't have any news yet, I just wanted to see how you're holding up.. or if there was someone you wanted me to call?" She asked. Anna Milton had known Dean since grade school, the two had had a brief fling in high school, too. Her expression was worried about her old friend and the parents that had helped to put her through nursing classes. Her parents hadn't exactly been the Brady's and she'd run to Dean's house more times than she could count before she was finally old enough to get herself away.

"My brothers are already on their way." He mumbled, not really meeting her stare. Without warning Anna stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Dean hesitated for a moment before returning the hug. "I have to get back to work, I'll check on you again in a little while." She murmured, pulling away. Dean glanced at her, emerald eyes bloodshot, and nodded.

It seemed like hours passed that he and Jo were sitting in that waiting room, waiting for news, waiting for Sam and Adam to show up, waiting for.. anything. Jo and Dean held hands, their fingers laced together while they both stared at the opposite wall, lost in their own thoughts.

Adam got there first, running down the hall toward the couple, another man running behind him. "Dean!" He called out, causing Dean to push himself to his feet, both men quickly wrapping the other in a hug. "D'you hear anything yet?" His elder brother shook his head in response.

"Nothing yet."

"Do you even know what happened?"

"No. All Garth said was that there was an accident and we needed to get to the hospital."

Adam frowned, sighing gently and nodding. Turning his blue eyes toward the other male he offered a gentle smile.

"Hey Dean.." Kevin said as he stepped forward and wrapped Dean into a quick hug before moving toward Jo to do the same. She smiled at the man and patted the seat next to her for him to sit.

Kevin Tran was Adam's boyfriend. Truthfully, Dean and Sam had both freaked out a little when Adam had told them he was gay, but eventually they'd gotten used to it. He was their brother and they loved him regardless. Kevin was younger than Adam by a couple of years and it showed in the roundness to his face. Within the few years they'd known the kid most of that chubbiness had vanished, though the soft lines around his face still told the truth. Then again, perhaps he would always have that, at least that was Dean's take on most Asian-Americans.

"Heard from Sam?" Adam asked now, earning a quick shake of his elder brother's head. The mechanic sighed and raised a hand to brush it back through his hair.

"I called him a couple hours ago, right before I called you, he's on his way."

Adam nodded, moving to sit beside Kevin, taking the mans hand gently within his own. Dean paced silently for a few minutes, glancing up and down the hall as he walked. Nurses and doctors milled about, going to check on patients or talk to families. Some even stopped to converse with one another, laughing softly amongst themselves. The longer that Dean paced the more upset he got. How was it that they'd been sitting here for three hours and no one had told them anything? _I need to know what's happening_, he thought with a dark frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He stopped a passing nurse, grabbing her arm just lightly enough to halt her steps. "Can you tell me what's happening with my parents?" He asked her.

"I'm sorry, I'm not on their case. I'll let the doctor know that you're asking." She said calmly, hoping that it would be enough to placate the man. It wasn't. Dean scowled at the little brunette's back as she walked away. Resuming his pacing, the elder male sighed. Several minutes passed. Dean figured that it would have been better if it were nothing but silence surrounding them, but he could hear people talking, the beeping of monitors and the soft murmurs of his family sitting in chairs.

Minutes passed that felt like hours and Dean watched as doctor after doctor walked passed them without a word. Frustration continued to build within before he finally yanked his phone back out and dialed Sam's cell. "Where are you?" He asked the second his brother picked up.

"We're about three hours out." Jessica said gently, "Sam would have answered, but going 90 down a country road? I wouldn't let him."

"Speaker." He said the one word with a growl. Hearing the tone of his voice Jessica obeyed without question and put the phone onto speaker, holding it between her and Sam so the tall Winchester could hear. As soon as he could hear the faint echo, he knew that she'd done it and began growling out, "Sam, mom and dad are in the hospital because of a car accident. Are you really so stupid as to speed to get here?"

"Dean.." His brother began, but Dean cut him off without hesitation. "Drive like you've got some sense." He commanded before hanging the phone up as yet another doctor walked passed. Without even thinking about it he chucked his phone at the wall–later he would be glad he'd bought one of those virtually indestructible case. "Why hasn't anyone told us anything?" He demanded angrily.

Jo was on her feet in an instant, rushing to his side. "They probably still don't know what's going on, Dean.. deep breaths." She said while running a hand over his back to try soothing him. Dean jerked away from her, needing this moment to be furious. The blonde let out a quiet sigh and collected her fiance's phone from the floor before reclaiming her seat beside Kevin. Her legs crossed while leaning back in the chair, brown eyes following the elder male as he resumed pacing the floor.

"It's been four hours. _FOUR!_ and we still don't know anything." He ranted heatedly, then fell silent.

Kevin muttered something about coffee and pushed himself to stand. After pecking Adam on the cheek, he stood. Jo pointedly looked to Dean when she grabbed Kevin's hand and whispered, "decaf." The boy vanished seconds later to find the cafeteria while Adam and Jo watched Dean's nervous and frustrated pacing.

Jo hated hospitals, she always had. Ever since she was 8 and her father had gotten sick. She'd spent almost a year in and out of the same hospital while he father fought lung cancer.. eventually losing. Hospitals all smelled the same, they all looked the same and they all sounded the same. Being here now only dredged up memories that she really didn't want to think about, and it made the knot in her stomach tighten even further. Her gaze shifted from Dean to his younger brother, knowing that Adam felt much the same way. His mother had died in a hospital when he was fourteen. Of course, her circumstance was different.. Adam's mother had put herself there by trying to kill herself and three weeks later she succeeded. Jo had always wondered what it would take for someone to draw that final line in their lives, to pull their own plug and let themselves be swept down the drain. She'd never asked Adam if he knew what had caused his mother's depression, knowing it was still a touchy subject. She couldn't help but to wonder, however, what was going through the man's mind as he watched his elder brother

"Winchester?" A voice boomed, startling Jo from her thoughts and turning all three sets of eyes.

* * *

**I realize I end each with a hint of a cliffhanger, sorry, just how I envision it should end.**

**Ratings are great, let me know how I'm doing and if you want to see more!**


	3. John

**Disclaimer: Do not own SPN or any of the characters. Only what my mind allows me to create.**

**Rating: M for Death, Language, Anger, Self-Harm.**

* * *

"Winchester?" A voice boomed, startling Jo from her thoughts and turning all three sets of eyes. Dean immediately rushed over, glancing down at the name tag at the same time the doctor introduced himself. "I'm Gordon Walker, the doctor presiding over your mother and father." He said to Dean, offering a quick smile that he knew wouldn't be returned. Gordon was a tall man, roughly between Dean's 6' and Sam's 6'4 height, and a bit stocky, too. He had dark skin and a deep voice that seemed to emanate from somewhere in his stomach, it almost had a calming tone to it, but Dean was far passed being able to be calmed easily.

"And? What's going on?" Dean demanded roughly. Adam and Jo reached his side, the latter quickly latching onto Dean's hand.

Gordon didn't seem to mind the hint of attitude, he'd heard it all over the years. A line creased his brow as he tucked the patient chart behind his back, eyes locked onto Dean's. "Your mother and father were brought in here after a car accident. The officers inform us that your parents were driving down Center Street when another car drove through the stop sign. The other driver was killed on impact and we believe he might have been intoxicated.

Both of your parents sustained serious injuries, your fathers were worse due to the impact of the steering wheel. We spent several hours working on them, attempting to fix the damage that had been done internally. Your father..." Gordon hesitated only a moment, that moment being enough for each of them to realize bad news was coming. Even with the realization, none of them were braced for it. "I'm sorry. Your fathers injuries were too severe and we were not able to save him."

Jo felt shocked tears spill over her lashes, Adam's jaw dropped in shock. Dean's heart stopped for only that split second, feeling grief and anger and shock welling inside him. "And my mother?" He asked, emerald eyes glued to the doctor, searching for some sort of clue that this would be bad, too.

Gordon smiled sadly and shook his head, "your mothers injuries were just as severe, though I believe that we've mended the most crucial of them. She.." He cleared his throat as a small Asian-American stepped up behind the group, holding a cup tray and a shocked expression. He'd heard about John as he was rounding the corner and instantly his heart broke for Adam. "At the moment she is in a coma, the anesthesia should have worn off almost an hour ago, though she hasn't yet awoken. Her vitals are low, and we are trying to bring them back up," he said, then seeing the look of hope in each of their eyes, swallowed hard. This was the part of the job that he hated, the part that made him want to rush home to his mother, wife and daughter and hold them tightly for hours on end. Shaking his head, he went on, "but we don't have much hope."

Dean felt his chest tighten and his head cloud. _No.. Where are you, Sammy?_ He thought as he looked at the dark-skinned man in front of him, squeezing Jo's hand to keep his head on straight. He barely looked up and caught the last few words of the doctors statement... "..your goodbyes now." The world spun around the elder Winchester as he processed it all.. or tried to. His knees buckled, sending him crashing to them. Shock colored each face as they stared at the doctor, Dean at the man's knees.

"Can we see them?" Jo asked in a harsh whisper, obviously trying not to cry. Adam registered the question before either of the two at his side. Jo wanted to know if they could see John as well, even though he was already gone.

Dr. Walker nodded softly as he looked between them. "His.. He is still in the operating room, waiting." His voice gentle, issuing that calming tone once more. After pointing the rooms out, he shook Adam, Kevin and Jo's hands, frowning quietly as he looked down to Dean.

"I gotta.. call.. Sam." Dean mumbled, shaking his head. It was apparent to each person standing there that the elder male was in shock. Dean had thought his father was indestructible. He used to think that his dad was some sort of superhero who would never fall to the same mortality that did other men in. He'd thought that since he was 5 years old and it had never fully left him, even when he realized that death was inevitable.

"We will." Jo assured him as she worked to pull him back to his feet. "Adam, why don't you go see your dad and Dean and I will go see his mom." She suggested. Of course, Adam wanted to see Mary too, she'd been a mother to him after his own had died, but he knew that Dean needed to see Mary more. He nodded, took Kevin's hand and slipped away.

Dean stood on shaky legs, leaning toward Jo as she wrapped an arm around his waist, leading him toward his mother's room, 305. A sharp intake of breath sounded as her gaze landed on Mary. Hooked up to a thousand different things with a tube in her throat, her face swollen with bruises. The sight caused her grip on Dean to tighten as he looked away from his mother, feeling the tears that sprung to his eyes. Jo walked Dean closer and settled him in the chair beside Mary's bed. "I'm going to call Sam.. take your time." She said before kissing the top of his head and slipping from the room.

* * *

Sam hardly heeded his brother's warning and kept the pedal to the floor, pushing 90mph. He needed to get there, now. Hearing his phone buzz again brought a frown to his lips, glancing over to see Jessica pick it up and place it to her ear, already turning the speaker on. "Hey." The blonde said, waiting for Dean to speak again. Instead it was Jo.

"How much longer do you guys have on the road?" Jo asked, already catching the echo that told her she was on speaker and refrained from dropping the news onto Sam while he was still speeding, as the roar in the background informed her.

"We actually just crossed over city limits so.. what, Sam, ten, fifteen minutes?" Jessica asked, turning a glance toward her husband.

"Eight if no one pulls us over." He chuckled humorlessly. They'd been lucky so far not to see red and blue flashing lights in the rear view, but that didn't mean they wouldn't come as soon as they got into Lawrence. "What's going on Jo? How are they?" He asked, hopeful that there would be some good news.

Instead the blonde fell silent for several moments, chewing her lip in turmoil. Should she answer him? Yes, but not with the news. "Just get here Sam." She whispered the plea.

Sam, detecting a note of depression to his soon-to-be sister-in-law's voice, pushed harder on the gas, propelling the car through an empty intersection. He said nothing for the remaining five minutes that he drove before glancing toward Jessica to be sure her seat belt was in place. The tall man hit the brakes at the same time he swerved into the hospital parking lot, nearly hitting a black truck in the process, and half parking into two spaces. As soon as the car was stopped he cut the engine and moved to jump out of the car, groaning when the seat belt held him back. Jessica was already running toward the building by the time he'd hauled himself to his feet.

Dropping the keys into his pocket, Sam rushed inside, following the locks of blonde hair several yards ahead of him. His fingertips grasped a wall to vault himself around it, stopping when he saw Jo pacing the hallway, tapping Dean's phone against her chin. "Jo! What's.. Where's.." He floundered, fighting for a breath.

"Sam.." Jo started, tears already staining her cheeks. She reached out to grasp the tall Winchester's hands.

* * *

Dean sat there, staring at his mother. There was no way he was ready to say his goodbyes. Not to her. Never to her. He'd counted on at least another twenty years with his mother standing over his shoulder, telling him what he should and shouldn't do. He'd counted on another twenty birthdays and Christmas's. He'd counted on her being there for the wedding to smile broadly up at the two of them, to help him with Ben and tell him when he was being a screw-up. "Mom.." He choked out, his hand quickly reaching for hers. Tears had filled his eyes, but none had spilled yet. The doctor said that he didn't hold much hope, but that didn't mean that he should give up, right?

And if he said his goodbyes, then that was giving up, wasn't it? No, he couldn't give up. Dad was gone and there would already be a fight to deal with that, he couldn't cope with the loss of his mother too. Not so soon. As if sensing his distress, Sam burst through the door, mouth agape, eyes shining, long-ish dark hair wind blown. His face almost instantly turned in on itself, scrunching as he fought off the tears before looking to Dean. Neither brother spoke as Dean pushed himself to his feet and quickly enveloped his brother in a tight hug.

As Dean pulled away he patted Sam's back, "I'm.. I'm gonna go see Dad.." He muttered, holding back the choked sob that threatened to fall from his lips. The lump in his throat already marred his voice. Sam nodded and let his brother walk passed him before closing the door and turning back toward Mary. "Mommy.." He whimpered in a pathetic voice before dropping to his knees beside the bed. His hand reached out to grasp Mary's tenderly as the tears quickly fell. He kissed her hand, then pressed it to his forehead. "Please don't go, mom. We need you." He choked out. Sam only registered the tears that fell because his vision had clouded so greatly. "We can't do this without you.. Not now. You've got to come back, mom. Please.. please." He begged, though something told him that Mary couldn't hear him anymore.

* * *

Dean didn't look at Kevin, Adam or the girls as he stepped back into the hall. He'd already put on his best poker face and didn't need one of them to break it. Instead, he turned and walked toward the operating room that his father was sitting in, waiting for them to say their goodbyes. This one would be easier, Dad was actually gone and he could let it go.

Well, he'd thought so. Right up to the moment of pushing the swinging doors open and stepping through them to see John Winchester, flat on his back on a steel table with a white cotton sheet covering his body from toes to neck. He was paler than he'd ever been in life, his cheeks seem hollow. There were bruises on his face, though no where near as badly as his mothers. Dean assumed that was because John's injuries were more focused on his chest.

He stepped up to the side of the table, his eyes on his father's face, feeling his breathing hitch as the tears he'd fought so desperately to hold back fell. "Oh God, dad, I'm so.. what do I do? You're gone and mom.. She's gotta pull through, I can't do it without you guys. And Ben? What am I supposed to tell Ben?" He breathed in panic, staring down at his father's lifeless face. "I.. dammit dad.. What am I supposed to do!" He shouted without realizing he had. He pushed himself away from the table, pacing the room to try and get a grip on himself.

It was harder than he'd have thought to do. Every nerve screamed at him to keep walking, keep moving and don't stop, while his heart wanted nothing more than for him to collapse in a heap and his brain told him to just give in and let it all loose. Dean didn't know which to listen to. His knees shook with the force of keeping himself upright and tears streaked down his face. It felt like an hour later when he'd finally slowed himself down, adrenaline wearing thin. "I'll watch out for Sam and Adam." He whispered in promise, then swooped to place a kiss to the top of his father's head and walked out the door and straight into Adam.

"You okay?" Adam asked, his voice thick and his eyes red. Dean could tell that his youngest brother had been crying and it was obvious that he, himself, had been as well. Without saying anything he wrapped his arms around Adam and dragged the man close to hug him tightly. Adam hesitantly returned the hug, not sure what to think. Dean wasn't usually this emotional, but he couldn't fault his big brother for it. Not even a little. Jessica slipped into the room behind him, needing her moment with John.

Dean released Adam and wordlessly walked toward the chair he'd occupied earlier, then slumped quickly down into it. Jo wasn't sure whether she was meant to follow or stand where she was. She glanced toward Adam and Kevin, then knelt beside Dean and placed a hand on his thigh. "I'm sorry, Dean.." She whispered, her eyes locked onto his face. He bent over, wrapping his arms around the girl and burying his face into her hair, sniffling loudly.

* * *

Sam knelt over the bed, crying until he felt as if every tear was spent, all the while pleading and begging her to come back to them. Finally, he pushed off the bed, bent to kiss her forehead, then sauntered from the room. He glanced toward Dean and Jo, wrapped around one another as his brother's shoulders shook, then toward Adam and Kevin who had sank to the floor. Jessica stood with her arms crossed, leaning beside the door to the operating room, blue eyes locked against Sam. He finally turned toward her and forced back the tears as he purposely walked past her and into the room where his father lay.

He'd never thought that something could be so hard as to say goodbye to someone you loved more than yourself. Both John and Mary's parents had died when Sam and Dean were both very little, so he'd never really had grandparents, and his father had hated dogs while his mother was allergic to cats. The brothers had never really dealt with death on a scale such as this before and Sam was utterly unprepared. He had hoped that they would have a long time left with their parents.

He'd hoped that Mary and John would see he and Jessica's children, would see Dean and Jo's, would see Adam and Kevin adopt. Sam and Jessica hadn't told anyone that they were expecting, having only just found out themselves. Now.. his father wouldn't get to see it. And the way things were looking it was too optimistic that his mother would, either. He bit his lip as he stared at his father's body, unable to bring himself any closer than the couple of steps he'd taken into the room. He could hardly think of anything to even say to his father.

_Doesn't matter what I say, you won't hear it._ Sam thought, causing the tears to leak even faster. He felt as if his heart was being crushed from the inside and it constricted his breathing, forcing him to press a hand to the wall to keep himself on his feet.

"Code Blue, paging Dr. Walker to room 305. Code Blue, paging Dr. Walker to room 305." A females voice called over the intercom.

* * *

**Give me some ratings guys, I wanna know if I should continue with this or not. From now on I'll get a new chapter up at least once a week, I'm out of all the ones I had saved up. Let me know what you think!**


	4. Hail Mary

**Disclaimer: Do not own SPN or any of the characters.**

**Warning: Language, violence.**

* * *

Dean heard the call while nestled into Jo's hair, letting the tears fall silently. Blearily, he raised his head, brows knitted together. _305, isn't that...?_ He didn't get to finish the thought before a storm of nurses and doctors flew down the hall passed he and his family and into his mother's room. Only after they were in the room did Dean realize that Dr. Gordon Walker was among them. He gaze landed promptly on Sam as his younger brother launched himself out of the operating room John lay in. Dean stood quickly, pulling Jo with him so that he wouldn't barrel her over, then released her quickly to dart toward the door to room 305. _No, no, no. MOM!_ He screamed in his own head as his hands stretched out to catch himself instinctively at his mother's door.

Seconds later and Sam's were above his, peering into the room over Dean's head. Both men breathed heavily as they watched the doctors working; one monitor next to the bed beeping rapidly while the other held a steady note. He knew that neither were good. "CLEAR!" Gordon called loudly. Dean hadn't even realized that they'd hooked up the small bandages to his mother's chest and pulled the crash cart close. His mothers body twitched under the electricity coursing through it. All heads turned toward the monitor which beeped steadily for only a few short seconds before flat-lining.

Dean felt a pair of strong hands clasp his shoulders and knew that Sam was steadying himself. "CLEAR!" Gordon yelled again before pressing the paddles against Mary's chest, causing the woman to twitch again. All eyes diverted to the monitor once more, watching it beep steadily again, a short while longer than the first, then running dead again. "Charge to 400 joules" Gordon commanded Anna.

The red-head nodded quickly, "charging," she called, watching the monitor and the woman. _Come on, Mary..._ She plead.

"CLEAR" Gordon called once more, hit the paddles against Mary's chest and watched her body spasm under the voltage. When he yanked the defibrillator paddles away, once again everyone looked to the screen, holding their breath. This time the beep stayed, though the other was still beeping a little too rapidly. "Vitals!" He called out, placing his hands over various parts of Mary's face as if expecting to find something by the mere touch of his hand.

"BP is 40/90, Pulse ox is at 89%," Anna rattled off, eyes on the screen, "heart rate is–shit! She's seizing!" She called as Mary's body began to jump repeatedly upon the bed. Hands flew to hold the woman's head and body carefully so that she couldn't fall from the bed. "Coding" Anna screamed when Mary's body stopped it's erratic spasms and the monitor flat-lined again.

Dean felt his heart sinking more and more with every passing second. A knot forming in his stomach and a lump in his throat that he couldn't quite swallow down. His mouth went dry and everything seemed to move so much slower. He could feel the pressure of Sam's hands so much more than he had only moments before, as if that gentle pressure was becoming a huge weight that threatened to crush him down into the floor. He felt Jo's soft hand close around his. Dean felt as if he could hear everything so much clearer, but yet his vision began to cloud. He wouldn't admit it, but he was losing hope and it scared the hell out of him.

"Clear!" Gordon shouted, causing Dean to jump slightly, emerald gaze watching the man's hands. Mary's body twitched, the monitor responding, but the moment he pulled the paddles away she went limp and the flat-line returned. "Clear!" Gordon shouted again, pressing the paddles against her chest to watch her twitch only to flat-line again. "Clear!" The process repeated twice more before Gordon let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. Anna sniffled as she flicked the sound of the monitors off. "Time of–"

"NO!" Dean shouted, quickly launching himself from under his brother's hold. "You can't just give up! Keep trying, dammit!" His eyes were wild with panic,wide with fear.

"Dean, there's–"

"Then get out of my way and I'll do it my damn self."

"She's gone.." Gordon said in that almost entrancingly mellow tone.

"No, she's not.. don't you dare give up!" He shouted, his voice cracking.

"Dean, there's nothing more we can do. She's gone."

"_Stop_ saying that!" He shouted, pushing the crash cart closer to Gordon. "_Save her_!"

Gordon sighed quietly, turning a glance toward the clock over the door, "time of death 10:30 pm." He announced to the room. Anna sniffed again as she flicked the monitors off, leaving her hand on the machine and trying to control her own tears. Sam had dropped to his knees in the doorway, tears shaking his frame, Jessica and Jo comforting him while Kevin and Adam stood further back in the hall.

"No!" Dean shouted once more, pushing the crash cart against the wall. The nurses began to file out of the room, stepping around Sam. All looked forlorn and even slightly worried about the reaction coming from the elder male. Anna placed her hand against Dean's chest and barely stifled a sob before walking from the room. Gordon smiled sadly at the eldest brother. "I'm truly sorry that there was nothing more I could do." He said before following the nurses out of the room.

He felt the tears spring to his eyes, felt the world around him closing in and his breathing hitched in response. With a frustrated grunt he swung his fist at the plaster wall three feet to the left of his mothers bed. There was a satisfaction in its crumbling under his closed hand, though seconds later when the pain started in his knuckles it didn't feel so hot.

Sam didn't move from the doorway nor Jessica from his side, holding tightly to him as she cried quietly. Adam and Kevin held one another in the hall, both sobbing quietly. Dean slammed his fist against the wall again, again, again until it was stained red from the cuts that had formed on his knuckles. Turning he rammed his back against the same wall before sliding down it, sobbing loudly. Jo rushed to his side, her slender arms quickly wrapping around his head as she knelt down, cradling him and allowing him to cry as her own silent tears fell into his hair.

* * *

Four days had passed and Jo was worried. Dean was either at the garage working or at the bar drinking. She'd seen him a grand total of two times in the last four days, each as she was climbing out of bed to get ready for work. She could still smell the alcohol on him each morning. Adam, Kevin, Sam and Jess were all staying in their old rooms at Mary and John's, all waiting for the funeral before heading back to their own homes to deal with the grief separately. She didn't know what she was going to do, forced between worry for her fiance and depression for his loss.

It was 8 o'clock and she knew that the garage would be closed, so there was no reason why Dean shouldn't be home, which meant that he was back at the bar. A sigh ripped through her lips, quickly yanking her cell phone from her rear pocket and dialing in Sam's number. Jo waited patiently for the lawyer to pick his phone up. Okay, semi-patiently as her black painted nails drummed against the tabletop.

"Hey, Jo." Sam's voice sounded hollow, as if the cheer he was putting on was no more than a depressing show.

"Sam.. Can you.." She sighed, not sure where to go from there.

"What's going on?" He asked, sounding more alert.

"It's Dean, he won't talk to me. I can't... I can't get him to answer his phone and he won't come home until long after I'm in bed. When I get up he's still dressed from the night before and smells so strong of whiskey it's a wonder he's not.. Sam.. Help, please?" She begged after having cut herself off from saying the word 'dead'.

"Dean deals with things... self destructively sometimes.." Sam said aloud in a sort of far off voice, as if he hadn't meant to say it at all. "I'll find him." He promised.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

* * *

Sam sighed as he hung up the phone, then turned toward Jess. The girl offered a sympathetic smile, having heard most of the conversation from her place beside him on the couch. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, then pried himself off the couch. Grabbing his keys, the tall male slipped out the door and dropped into his car.

It didn't take too long before he found the bar his brother sat in. Dean was half slumped against the bar top with a beer in one hand and his cheek in the other. Two full shot glasses sat on the bar in front of him, his emerald eyes glazed as he stared at the wall of liquor behind the counter. He wondered just how much he'd have to drink in one night to completely dull the pain, then he realized that drowning his sorrows that way could result in his death and a small part of him had to wonder if he even cared

Sam frowned darkly and dropped into the seat beside his brother just as Dean raised the bottle back to his lips for another long drink. "Jo send you?" He asked without looking at the taller male.

"She's worried." Sam said raising his hand to get the bartenders attention and order a beer for himself.

"I'm fine." He growled in response.

"You're far from fine, Dean. You're bottling everything up, you're drinking, you're distant and... you need to talk to someone."

"No, I don't."

"No? Then what do you need? Another round? Twenty? What do you need?"

"Don't start, Sam. It's been four days and I'm still trying to process it all. Mom and Dad are dead, you expect me to just move on like it didn't fucking happen?" He snapped, finally looking over at Sam.

"No, I don't, no one else is. But no one else is drinking themselves to death, either." Dean said nothing, simply scowled at his brother. Sam frowned and shook his head. "If you don't start talking about it, you're going to explode." Sam argued.

"Sam. Don't go there." He growled in response.

"It'll be just like last time and everyone else is going to have to pick you up off the concrete because you're too piss-drunk to notice or even care."

"This isn't like 'last time'." He growled again before grabbing one of the shots and downing it without so much as a wince at the after burn. A tell-tale sign he'd drank far too much already. Sam barely glanced at the bartender as the girl set his drink in front of him before bouncing away.

"No? How isn't it _just_ like last time? You're cooped in a bar all hours of the night, you smell like you've been showering in cheap whiskey and you look like you haven't had a drop of sleep in months."

"Because last time mom and dad were here!" He snapped again before taking the other shot into his mouth.

Sam scoffed and shook his head, looking away from his elder brother for a moment. Sometimes it was so difficult to deal with Dean, especially when he'd been drinking. The elder male always seemed to think that he was right and no amount of screaming or yelling was able to bring him back to earth until he'd sobered up. At the rate his brother was going it would take a couple days before he'd be fully sober. "Do you really think that this is what they'd want for you? To spend your days cooped up in a bar drinking until you can hardly remember your own name?"

Dean shook his head hard. "Knock it off, Sam."

"No, you'd rather just sit here and drink, who cares what anyone else thinks, right?"

"Go home, Sam."

"Who cares that your scaring the shit out of your fiance, your son is calling three times a day because even he knows something's wrong, Adam's worried you're going to relapse, I'm worried you're going to do something stupid. But who cares what we all think, right?"

"I mean it, Sam."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You're just going to sit here and punk out because you can't deal enough to get yourself through the day without being shit-faced. The funeral is tomorrow morning and you haven't helped with a damn thing. You left it all up to everyone else because you just can't tear yourself away from the bottle."

Dean glowered at his brother, but was honestly too drunk to think of a smart-ass jab to throw at the man.

"Exactly, you've got nothing to say because you know that I'm right. Dean, You'll be drunk off your ass at your own parents funeral. How do you think they would–" The words were cut out as Dean turned quickly and swung his bruised and cracked fist upwards at his brothers jaw, nearly knocking the man off of his stool.

Almost instantly Sam growled and shot himself back up, grabbing the shoulder of Dean's jacket and hauling his brother quickly to his feet to half-drag him out the door. With a grunt he shoved him onto the sidewalk. "You really want to do this?" He yelled at his brother, throwing his arms out to the sides with a classic 'come at me' expression. Dean pried himself off the sidewalk, stumbled for only a second as he reclaimed his bearings then launched himself at his brother.

Sam side stepped, pushing on Dean's back to knock him to the ground again. "It's pointless to fight right now, Dean, you're drunk." Dean growled again as he pushed back to his feet, turned and swung again at his brother. This time he landed another solid punch on Sam's jaw. Once again, the taller Winchester shoved his brother back, causing Dean to fall on his behind. He was trying not to actually hurt Dean because he knew that the male wasn't thinking all that clearly. Couldn't blame him with the alcohol in his system and the depression taking over his brain.

Dean didn't seem to see anything beyond the angry red that was caused by the liquor and his brother having succeeded in fully pissing him off. He lurched to his feet once more and threw himself at Sam, to which the taller male simply stepped aside and allowed the other to hit the wall of the bar with his chest and hands. Dean let out a heavy breath, irritated beyond belief that he'd let himself get so drunk that he couldn't fight his own brother. Any other day and he'd kick the crap out of Sammy, today? Not so much. He shoved hard off the wall and flung himself at Sam, this time catching his shoulder against his younger brothers gut, sending both men crashing to the ground. Instantly Dean clambered up onto Sam's chest and aimed another hard punch to his brother's jaw.. and another.. and another.

Finally Sam had had enough. In one fluid movement he'd rolled the two of them, aiming a punch of his own at Dean. The first caught his brother in the stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs, the second landed on his brothers temple. A satisfied breath fell from his lips when he noticed Dean stopped moving. His elder brother was still breathing, just knocked the hell out. When he managed to push himself back onto his knees he heard a familiar voice only a couple feet to his right.

"Police. Freeze."

* * *

**What do you think?**


	5. Ben

**Disclaimer: As before**

**Warning: As before**

* * *

"Sam?" Garth asked, having stepped around the man enough to catch sight of his face.

"Gonna arrest me?" He asked in return, aiming his eyes up enough to look at Garth, and then Jody as the woman stepped into view.

"We were called in on a bar fight, didn't expect it'd be the two of you." The female officer commented as a hand raised to brush through the short pony-tail behind her head.

"Dean got a little out of hand.. Look, can I just take him home, sober him up?"

Garth frowned, wanting to help his friends and Jody followed suit. Normally they'd have locked both men up for the night, but... "The funeral's in the morning, isn't it?" Jody asked with a quirked brow. Sam nodded in response, bringing about a sigh from the officers. "Alright, get him out of here... If I have to come out again, though, I won't have a choice." She told him before stepping back and radioing back to the station that the situation was resolved while Garth knelt to help Sam haul his brother up to half-carry and half-drag him to the car. After tossing him into the backseat and slamming the door he looked back to his old friend.

"Sorry about your parents, Sam." The man said gently, reaching out to place a hand on Sam's arm. Sam nodded his thanks before looking toward his drunken brother. "Thanks for not tossing us in a cell.."

Garth laughed softly and shrugged his shoulders up. "I figure the two of you have seen enough of them to last a lifetime.. besides, with everything going on tomorrow you'll both need to be there." He added with a sigh. Sam nodded once more before patting the other males shoulder, then stepping around to drop into the driver's seat.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Jo cried, throwing herself out of the kitchen door and rushing to her fiance as Sam hauled the still unconscious male from the car. "What happened!?" She asked shrilly, dark eyes jumping to Sam's face and wincing as she noticed the bruises that had formed along his jaw

"Don't worry about it, Jo.. like I said before, sometimes Dean's a little self-destructive."

"Looks more like 'destructive' to me." She commented before noting the bruise forming around Dean's temple and turned a glance up toward the tall man. Sam shrugged lightly. "Had to get him off somehow."

Jo sighed inwardly before nodding her blonde head and wrapping an arm around Dean's waist to help Sam drag the man into the house. After depositing him on the couch she grabbed Sam's hand and lead him to the kitchen. "Let me look at it, some of those look pretty bad." She winced again when he sat down at the table and the light caught the dark marks along his jawline. "Sorry.." She whispered when he hissed lightly at her touch.

"I've had worse."

"Still.. I didn't think he would.."

"It's fine, Jo. Just... watch out for him. He's going to have a killer headache when he wakes up and probably a hangover from hell, too. If he gets out of hand again call me right away.."

"I will. Thanks." She whispered before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Sam wrapped the girl into a gentle hug, then left after frowning at his brothers limp form. Jo dampened a cloth and went back to the living room to dab it at her fiance's head, wishing that there were more she could do to help, but knowing that there was nothing. As her hand brushed through his short hair she heard a vibrating sound from his pocket and sighed. The blonde reached carefully into his pocket and extracted his cell. Seeing Lisa's name flash across the screen made her want to ignore the call, but she knew that she needed to at least make the attempt at being civil.

"Hello?" She asked after hitting talk and pushing herself to stand. Jo wandered toward the kitchen so that she could talk without waking Dean.

"Jo? Why didn't Dean answer?" The brunette asked in irritation causing Jo's eyes to roll up before freezing in mid-step.

"Lisa, have you talked to Dean at all recently?"

"Yeah, four days ago about Ben and football.. Why?" Jo bit her lip, turning to look back at Dean for a split second. It truly wasn't her place to say.. anything, but it didn't appear as if her fiance had been able to do it, probably because he'd been worried about hurting Ben. Knowing that it would hurt the kid more not to know, Jo decided to tell Lisa the truth. "Something happened after you and Dean talked last."

"What? Oh god, tell me he's not relapsing?" Lisa sounded irritated once more which caused Jo to go on the defensive by snapping, "of course not!" at the woman. "Then what, because I really don't have time for this."

_Dear God how had Dean ever loved this woman!?_ Jo wondered. "Mary and John were in an accident.." She spilled, feeling the tears threaten to choke her voice out. Lisa fell into a stunned silence for several long minutes, during which Jo could hear her breathing while attempting to process it.

"When?" She asked in return.

"The same day."

"Are they alright?"

"No."

"That's why Dean hasn't returned any of my calls." Lisa said in shock. Jo didn't bother to say anything, figuring that the answer was obvious. Lisa had gripped the counter top in the hope that it would keep her knees from buckling and knocking her to them. How in the hell was she supposed to tell Ben? Her eyes instinctively raised toward the ceiling as if she could see her son through the wood. "When's the.." she cut herself off, unable to say the word 'funeral'.

She hadn't needed to, Jo already knew what the woman was asking. "Tomorrow morning. I would have called and told you sooner.. if I'd realized he didn't." Jo frowned toward the living room once more as she sat at the kitchen table in the same chair that Sam had occupied a short time ago.

"Do.. Do you think he'd want Ben there?"

"I honestly don't know. He's been a little distant, but I'm sure having Ben here would help." Jo said softly. Okay, maybe civility with Lisa wouldn't be so difficult.

"We'll be there tomorrow. Matt has to work, so he won't be coming, but I'll take the day and pull Ben out of school. He should be there for this." _For Dean._ She corrected in her head. Much as she detested the fact that Ben could need his father more than her, she knew when Dean would need Ben too. The conversation didn't last much longer, knowing that she needed to get herself upstairs and talk to her son as well as get things around for the morning. Soon enough she'd hung up with Jo, promising to be there bright and early. Next step was to find a flight out before the morning and then go talk to Ben.

* * *

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	6. Whiskey Talks

**Disclaimer: As Before...**

**Warning: As Before...**

**Author's Note: In response to the review from LegendaryArimaspi, yes, all major character's from the show will make an appearance, though some of them might be smaller than others. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing that Lisa had done when she'd hung the phone up was called in search of the soonest flight out that could get them anywhere close to Lawrence. It took nearly half an hour, in which time she made a halfhearted attempted at cooking dinner, but soon gave up. As soon as the flight was scheduled-less than three hours away-the brunette rushed up the stairs to tell her husband what had happened. He held onto her as she cried, wondering how in the world she was going to tell her son. Dean should have been the one to do it, but he was grieving and she couldn't blame him for it.

After extracting herself from her husbands arms, Lisa packed a bag for herself, then headed toward her son's room. She could hear him laughing about something from behind the door and it killed her to know that she would have to break his heart. She knocked and the laughter died away quickly. "Come in." Ben's voice called out.

He'd quickly dropped the screen to his laptop in order to hide Krissy's face from view. The two had been joking around while getting their homework done and he knew how much his mother detested distractions while in the middle of school work. Sometimes it was easier when Krissy helped him, though. "What's up, mom?" He asked, catching sight of her expression. It wasn't hard to see that his mother was hurting over something, but what was the question.

Lisa frowned and settled herself on the edge of Ben's bed. "I need you to pack a bag, grab your suit and an extra set of clothes."

"Why?" He asked, obviously confused. Ben knew that he had school in the morning and it was very unlike his mother to let him skip out on school. Which meant that something really had to be wrong. But what? "Mom... what's wrong?" He asked as he pushed himself to his feet, abandoning his homework on the desk and moving to sit beside her on the bed.

"Ben.. baby.. Do you remember the talk we had about when people get old?" She asked, barely containing a sniffle.

"I'm not a kid anymore mom.. people die.. Wait." His eyes widened in shock. His grandparents on his mothers side had died when he was very very little. Other than that he'd never really had to deal with death, but instantly the boy assumed the worst.. Or what his young mind construed as the worst. "Is dad okay?"

"You're dad's fine, honey." She responded by reaching out and grasping his hand.

"Then.. what's going on.." He questioned and when she said nothing his small hand reached out to cup her chin, tipping her face until she was looking at him. Ben's brows furrowed as he saw the tears glistening in his mothers eyes. "Mom?" He prodded, looking for answers.

"You're grandparents were in an accident.." She said tenderly. Ben looked confused for several moments. An accident didn't mean that they were dead, but if his mother was requesting that he pack his suit then.

"Mom?" He asked again, this time feeling his own eyes sting with tears.

"I'm sorry, baby." Lisa reached out to wrap her arms around him and draw him close to her.

His smaller arms wrapped tightly around her so that he could bury his face into the curve of her neck. "So, both grandma and grandpa are.."

"Yes.." She confirmed, stroking his hair tenderly. Lisa couldn't think of how best to tell her son all of this. In her eyes this was something Dean should have done, but at the same time she couldn't blame him, he had to have been taking it very hard if he hadn't even been able to call and tell her what had happened. Lisa held him tightly for as long as she possibly could before pulling back and running her fingers back through his hair. "Come on, baby, we have to get packed." She said softly, then pulled back to give him a little time to himself. "We leave in half an hour."

As soon as his mother left, Ben quickly grabbed the clothes he would need and shoved them down into a bag without bothering to fold them. All the while he stifled the sniffles and sobs. When he'd finished, the pre-teen flopped back into his desk chair and opened his laptop, ready to shut it down until they got home, but there was Krissy's concerned face staring back at him. Ben had completely forgotten that he'd still been talking to her when his mother had come into the room, so naturally the girl heard everything.

"I'm so sorry, Ben." She whispered, hardly able to find her voice. Krissy had dealt with death a lot more than Ben ever had to. Her mother had died when she was six, her younger sister had died when she was five and she'd lost more pets than Ben could ever fathom even having.

"I'll.. I'll talk to you when I get home, 'kay?" He asked, barely hiding the crack in his voice.

"If you need to talk, call me. I mean it." She demanded, resulting in his nodding in return. Ben wasn't sure when he would want to talk, at least to anyone other than his father. Dean would be the only one who would be able to communicate with him properly. As much as Lisa hated it, Ben was just like his father and that meant that only his father would be able to get through to him properly. Perhaps that meant that he would be the one who could get through to Dean. Although, he had no idea what his father was going through, right now.

"Okay.. See you soon, Kris."

"Night, Ben."

And then the image of his best friend was gone, replaced by a black screen. A low sigh slipped from his lips as he reached out to shut the computer down, then leaned back in his chair and rubbed hard at his face to wake himself up a little more. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. Not with a plane ride and a funeral tomorrow.

* * *

When she'd hung up the phone Jo walked back to the living room where Dean was still unconscious on the couch. A sigh slid passed her lips before gathering up the damp cloth from before and wiping at his face again. "Dean." She said softly. All that the blonde was granted in return was a slight movement of his lips, but remained motionless otherwise. "Dean." Jo said a little louder, gently shaking his shoulder. This time a brow rose in his semi-conscious state, once more moving his lips without sound. "Dean, wake up." She demanded, this time shaking his shoulder.

He didn't move, but one eye opened by a fraction of an inch to look at her. The mechanic frowned lightly, trying to remember coming home. Unfortunately all he remembered was the fight between he and Sam. And then the throbbing started in his temple, working it's way down to his jaw. Dean felt a knot in his stomach that seemed to clench even more as the seconds ticked by. Emerald eyes turned slowly toward the window to see the sunlight still streaming through weakly. "What time is it?" He grumbled.

"Eight o'clock.. Sam brought you back." She muttered, pulling herself back to sit on the coffee table in front of him.

"Please tell me at night?" He asked without looking at her.

"Mm-hmm." She hummed, keeping her brown eyes glued to his face as he finally shifted to sit up.

Dean groaned inwardly as the movement made his head hurt more. Once he was on his hands and knees on the couch he felt his stomach heave. Without warning he jumped unsteadily to his feet and darted through the dining room to the bathroom, dropping to his hands and knees in front of the toilet, barely making it in time before his stomach contents emptied into the porcelain bowl. His fiance let out another sigh as she followed him slowly to the bathroom.

Her slender arms crossed over her chest as she pressed her shoulder into the door frame. "Too much to drink?" She asked, the irritation clearly seeping into her voice.

"Not you too.." Dean groaned before vomiting again.

"What am I supposed to say, Dean?" She snapped without meaning to. "I've hardly seen you since.." a sigh fell from her lips once more before raising one hand to kneed the bridge of her nose, trying to rub away the migraine that was forming. "All you've done is drink since then. What am I supposed to do here?"

The only response she got was Dean throwing up a third time. A frown traced her lips while stepping into the bathroom and carding her fingers back through his hair. "I love you. I just don't want to see you throw away your life because they aren't here. This isn't what they would want for you."

"I know, Jo. I know." He croaked, though pulled away from her touch. The blonde felt tears sting her eyes from the small rejection and bit them back. "I need to take a shower and get some sleep.." the mechanic muttered, pushing himself to stand on unsteady legs. Jo took that as a dismissal and promptly left the bathroom. She'd wanted to tell him about the call from Lisa and how his ex-wife and son would be here before the funeral, but couldn't bring herself to do it just yet. Mostly because she knew that he would be angry about it.

Instead, the blonde left the room and walked to the kitchen, sighing heavily to herself. She contemplated calling Sam back, perhaps Adam or Benny. Someone needed to talk to Dean and she obviously wasn't able to get through to him. Joanna figured she would wait until Ben arrived, however. After all, a son could probably do more wonders than anyone else.

After putting their untouched dinner into the fridge and cleaning up the kitchen, Jo headed to bed. Never mind how early it was, she just couldn't stand to be awake any longer.

Dean stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to run over his skin for close to an hour before it began to turn cold. He reminded himself that he needed to put in a new, larger water heater before the end of summer when everyone would be here in preparation for the wedding. The reminder of the wedding only reminded him that his parents wouldn't be here. He typically wasn't an emotional person, but the alcohol coupled with his grief only made the tears fall.

He stayed in the shower long after the water had run icy cold, up until the shivers wouldn't stop. As soon as the towel was wrapped around his waist Dean slipped out of the bathroom into the slowly darkening house. "Jo?" There was no response and he frowned darkly before walking up the stairs to their room to find his fiance curled under the blankets, already asleep. Dean crept to the side of the bed and knelt down to brush one of the blonde curls away from her face. "I'm sorry, Jo.. I know I keep screwing things up.." He whispered, then leaned over to kiss her forehead.

Dean pushed off the bed and had made it only a step before a small warm hand closed around his icy one. "Dean, you're freezing! What happened?" She asked, sitting up quickly while pulling him back to her.

"Fell asleep in the shower?"

"Jesus, you're going to get hypothermia or something, come here." She demanded while tugging him closer. With his help, Jo pulled him into the bed beside her and quickly covered his bare body up. Her small hands rubbed at his arms and chest in the hope the friction would warm him quicker, though all she succeeded in doing was making herself cold.

"It's not that bad." Dean promised, forcing a quick smile.

Jo shivered slightly and hugged the blankets closer to them, nuzzling into his side at the same time. She fell silent long enough for her fiance to think she'd fallen asleep. Feeling his fingers combing through her hair brought a faint sigh as she shifted to look up at him. "You're not screwing things up, Dean. I just.. I don't want to see you in rehab, or in the hospital because you've ruined your liver. Adam and Sam are terrified that you're.."

"Going to relapse?" He interrupted, keeping most of the irritation out of his voice. Jo nodded softly against his chest but said nothing. "I'm not relapsing, Jo. Just a few drinks, I promise."

"Then stop." She demanded, turning her gaze back to his face.

"Stop what?" He asked barely keeping the forming argument from his tone.

"Stop drinking so much. You know I don't care if you have a beer every now and again, but stop with the whiskey, stop the tequila and the bourbon. If I get one more whiff of Wild Turkey I'm going to puke." She demanded.

"What does that have to do with relapsing anyway?" He demanded while scowling at the ceiling.

"Because that's how it started the last time."

"How would you know? You weren't here!" Dean snapped and instantly regretted it.

Jo pulled herself to sit up, dark eyes locked onto his face. "No, I wasn't here. But I listened to your mom, your dad, your brothers and Benny all tell me what happened. I had to hear how bad it was and I'm damn glad I never had to see you like that." Dean had only ever seen Jo truly angry a few times in the time he had known her because he'd always tried to keep her happy. Actually, he'd done everything in his power to make her happy. "One pill. One needle and that's it, Dean. I'll leave and you will never see me again because I can't do it. I'm not strong enough to pull you back." Her voice cracked as the tears sprung to her eyes.

Dean quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and laying back again. "You don't have to worry about that, Jo. I swear it, I'm not going to relapse, I'm just trying to deal.. please don't go." He begged while hugging her tightly. Jo sighed internally, knowing that it would take a lot more than his reverting to his rebellious self in order for her to walk away from him. Her slender arms wrapped tightly around him in return before kissing his chest.

"Get some sleep, Dean. We've got a long day tomorrow."

* * *

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	7. Two Funerals & A Wake

**Disclaimer: As before**

**Warning: As before**

* * *

Long day didn't even cut it. Every single moment had seemed to drag on for everyone involved. Sam and Dean both sported bruises from their fight the night before and each time the elder brother looked over at the younger one he felt a pang of guilt. He'd promised to take care of Sam and Adam and he was failing miserably. He'd promised Ben never to lie to the kid and there stood his son under his mothers arm without Dean having even called to tell him. Sure, it wasn't an outright lie, but an omission of the truth was close enough. He felt as if he were failing everyone around him, and that did little to quell his urge for something strong enough to kill the pain.

The three Winchester's, Jo, Ben, Lisa, Jessica, Kevin and several of his mother and fathers friends had gathered at the funeral, most of which Dean could point out, but wouldn't hold a conversation with to save his life. That is until Bobby showed up. Bobby had arrived only a couple of minutes late and slid in between Sam and Dean, looking as if he'd been there the whole time-yet obviously felt utterly out of place in his suit and tie.

It was silent, save for the reverend's speech and the sniffles and sobs that passed through those gathered. Dean felt as if he should be crying as well, yet at the same time felt as if all of his tears had been spent over the last couple of days. Sam looked as if he felt the same way while his arm rested securely around his wife's waist. Jo held onto her fiance's hand, staring blankly at the coffin. She felt as if she'd been to more funerals in her life than most anyone she knew.

For Dean, the funeral seemed to have dragged on for what felt like hours, though in reality was only a half of one. When it ended, some people said their goodbyes and left while others followed back to John and Mary's house for the wake. A stupid name in the elder brother's mind. _A wake. How can it be a wake if their dead, _he'd thought cruelly while standing in the hall, nodding to those who walked through the door. Well, that is until Bobby Singer stepped through. Instead of the usual handshake like all of the others had given Bobby had instantly wrapped each of the brothers into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, kid." He said when new arrivals stopped and he could get Dean alone.

"Don't worry about it Uncle Bobby." Dean replied with a sad smile and a shake of his head. Bobby wasn't really his uncle, but John and Bobby had been raised together after John's father vanished and his mother died and Bobby father was murdered while his mother drank herself to death. They'd grown close and had thought of one another as brothers, so naturally the kids all called him 'uncle'.

"Nah, I should'a been here sooner."

"Why? There's nothing you could have done."

"Even so."

Dean shrugged up his broad shoulders quickly before looking away. He'd been thinking about the bottle of whiskey under the kitchen cabinet since he'd woken up. Out of respect for his parents he hadn't brushed his teeth with it that morning, but now that the funeral was over he had a strong desire to go and dig it out. Unfortunately, he knew that he would have to sneak to accomplish it. "I.. um.. I need to go talk to Ben." He said before stepping away from the older man to go and find his son. Dean felt horrible for the fact that he'd only sad about four words to the kid since he'd gotten here.

Ben was nowhere to be found on the ground floor, including the yard, so Dean headed up the stairs. After a brief search of rooms he found the pre-teen sitting on the floor of John and Mary's room staring at the wall. "Hey, kid.. what are you doing in here?" He asked in concern.

The boy turned slowly to look at Dean, as if pulling himself out of a trance. "I dunno." He muttered and shrugged lightly before looking down at the floor.

Dean sighed gently and walked over to kneel beside his son. "Sure about that?"

"I... I just wanted to feel close to them. I didn't really get the chance to say goodbye." Ben mumbled, fighting off the tears in his eyes. If that were one thing that he hated, it was crying where other people could see him. A trait he'd inherited from his father.

"None of us really did, Ben." Dean muttered before settling down beside him. "I guess that's what the funeral is for.. say goodbye." Though goodbye's were empty without some sort of returned sentiment.

"It's not the same thing, Dad." Ben stated, obviously having felt the same way. His lower lip quivered while his eyes took in the picture on Mary's dresser. It was last year's summer vacation and Ben had spent it-as usual-with Dean. While his father had been at work he'd spent the whole day with his grandmother and they'd gone on a hike through the woods before having a picnic in the park. His grandmother had snapped a picture of their smiling faces while she'd hugged him close.

Dean's gaze followed Ben's to the picture and sighed while nodding softly. "I know it's not. I feel kinda cheated too." He stated before both fell silent, letting their eyes shift around the room to the various pictures and things that reminded them.

It was several moments later that Ben spoke again, his eyes back to the floor. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What if I forget what they look like?" He asked, turning shining brown eyes up toward his father.

"I'll never let that happen. There's pictures galore around here."

"And.. what if I forget what they sound like. Grandma used to sing to me.. remember?" Ben could feel the tears on the verge of spilling and willed them, unsuccessfully, away.

"I.. I don't know, kid." He said honestly, worried about the same thing. Again, both fell silent for some time.

Ben stared at the way the sunlight streaming through the window reflected off of his shiny dress shoes before taking in a little breath and looking up toward his father, who was staring again at the picture of Ben and Mary from the summer before. "Dad?"

"Yeah?" Dean slowly turned his gaze back to his son who had turned back to the floor.

"I don't want to forget." He mumbled, closing his eyes tightly and feeling the tears spring to his eyes.

"Hey, hey, you won't. As long as you think about the good times with them and always carry them with you, then you'll never forget." Dean said, quickly reaching out to wrap his arm around Ben and draw the kid close to hug him tightly.

* * *

Bobby milled about downstairs for a while, mingling with the others around before spotting Sam with his wife and making his way toward them. "Hey Sammy. Hello Jessica. Sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"It's fine, Uncle Bobby. I'm sure you had your hands full with other stuff." Sam responded and shook his head. Of course he'd have a politer version of the same thing his brother had said. Sometimes Bobby had to wonder if they shared thoughts. The older man had nodded in response, but said nothing more for the moment. Sam took that as a cue to speak again. "What have you been up to?"

"Ah, well, when Adam called about everything I had to find someone to keep an eye on things around home for me.. Especially since I'll be here for a couple of weeks at least."

"Why?" Jessica asked with an arch in her brow.

"Bobby's a partial owner of dad's shop. Dad's will is going to split his share between Uncle Bobby and Dick."

"Ah, the glamor of paperwork." Jessica stated. As lawyers, both Jessica and Sam knew that this could be a long process, which would entitle Bobby to be here for a couple of weeks while everything was sorted out, and then a little longer while Bobby and Dick Roman had their own little conversations about what to do now that John was gone. The older male hadn't actually worked within the shop in years, but spent all of his time at their other shop in Sioux Falls where he ran everything on his own.

Dick had taken care of the business end while John did the hard labor, it seemed a good compromise since John had never been all that great with paperwork. Oddly, even though all three brothers had known Dick since they were young none of them trusted him. There was something a little shark-like about the man that put them off, though most seemed to fall for his good looks and charm relatively easy.

"Yeah, the glamor of paperwork. You're gonna be at the reading tomorrow morning, right?" Bobby asked, looking to Sam now.

"Of course, Mom and Dad only had a certain group of people that they actually left anything to." Sam responded.

Bobby frowned a little. "Who else is supposed to be there?"

"Dean, Ben, Adam, a couple random people around town.. Why?

"No reason, no reason." Bobby responded with a soft smile on his lips and a wave of his hand.

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	8. The Wills

**Disclaimer: As before**

**Warning: As before**

**Author's Note: Apologies on it having taken so long to post up the next chapter, I've been so busy I simply haven't had time to write. I hope you enjoy the newest addition.**

* * *

Bela brushed her long dark hair back behind her ear while sitting behind her desk. She was waiting on the group to show up for the reading of John & Mary Winchester's wills. Her deep green eyes turned toward the clock on her desk and wondered just when everyone was going to show up, though from the sounds in the waiting room she was betting that a fair few were already gathered. A sigh fell from the brunette's lips. It was sad to know that John and Mary were gone, but the circumstances surrounding the male's death, at least, were a little.. sketchy.

Sure, both had seemed normal enough, but Bela had a feeling that something more was going on in their lives. With another glance toward the clock she pushed herself to her feet, then smoothed out the black pinstripe suit jacket. Squaring her shoulders, Bela walked to the door and pulled it open to look at the miniature crowd that had gathered in the waiting room. Some of the faces she knew, others were unfamiliar to her. "Winchester?" She called out to see most of the heads turn her way. "Come in." The brunette stepped away from the door to allow the group to enter her office before closing it behind them. "Bela Talbot," she said while extending a hand to shake each of theirs in turn.

With only two chairs in her office most everyone had to stand, an older male and a young boy were the two to take the seats. Bela slipped behind her desk and sat again, gathering up the papers in front of her. "Well, we all know why we're here, hopefully everyone is accounted for. John and Mary had separate wills, and they also had a joint for their common items. We'll begin with the joint." She stated, glancing at the faces in front of her before diverting her eyes. "Their estate has been left to their three sons, Dean Mason Winchester, Samuel Tristan Winchester and Adam Joseph Milligan. The money within their joint account has been transferred to a trust fund for Benjamin Isaac Braeden in the sum total of $21,672. Benjamin will be unable to access the account until his twenty-first birthday."

At the mention of the money Ben's eyes widened before looking at his father who smiled lightly. The brothers had already known that the house was going to them, they simply had to figure out who would actually get the house. Dean didn't want it, not since he owned his own. Sam was unlikely to take it with his practice in California, and Adam owned his own business in Minnesota, so he was just as unlikely to take it. Hard telling where to go from there.

Bela cleared her throat to continue. "Unfortunately that is all they shared, everything else is divided separately." She stated while running her fingers through her dark hair again. "We'll move onto Mary's will now." Small things, like jewelry or money, even photographs had been set aside for various people gathered. Jo held onto Deans hand who knelt beside Ben in the chair across from the desk. Kevin and Adam leaned against the wall beside Jo, Sam and Jessica stood close by. Bobby rested in the chair beside Ben with Anna settled against the wall near him. Dick Roman stood at the back of the room, his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed everyone. Several others milled about, waiting for their names to be called.

"John recently updated his will," Bela stated while glancing up at the group. Now for the part that had seemed sketchy. She watched as the elder Winchester brother's eyebrows furrowed and they shared a glance, though she said nothing more on it before turning her attention back to the page in front of her. "His shares and ownership in R&W motors is given fully to Robert Allen Singer. His 1979 Chevy Impala is left to his eldest son, Dean Mason Winchester. The money in his single account has been added to Benjamin's trust fund in the amount of $9,300. His 2000 Dodge Ram is left to Samuel Tristan Winchester. The key to his safety deposit box at the First Bank of Lawrence is given to his three sons." She finished and looked up toward the group. All eyes stared at her for several long moments as if trying to figure out what to do next.

"For anything that is left within the house, you'll need to set up a time with Sam, Dean and Adam to go and collect it." She told the group which caused most of them to leave.

"Ben, go wait outside with your mom for a minute, okay?" Dean asked and offered a gentle smile to the kid who nodded and left the room silently. When all that remained were his brothers and their spouses, himself and Bobby, Dean shifted his gaze to the lawyer. "How 'recently' did my dad update his will?" He asked now.

"Three weeks ago. He also asked that I give you this in private." Bela reached under the small stack of papers to pull out an envelope with Dean's name written on the front. "I'm sure that all of you know where everything is to split between everyone else." She stated, causing the brothers to give non-committal nods. It would most likely take a couple of weeks to sort through things to find each individual item bequeathed to everyone.

"Mr. Singer, I'll need you to stick around today, fill out a few things as far as the company is concerned." She told Bobby, who nodded lightly. He hadn't actually expected John to leave him everything for the company, he'd expected some sort of split between Dick, Dean and himself.

"Mrs. Talbot, you said there was a key to a safety deposit box?" Sam spoke up, drawing Dean from his thoughts.

"Mm, right. Here you go. There are specific orders that the three of you and the three of you alone are to be there when it is opened. Your father was very clear about that." She stated while looking at the brothers. Bela passed the key to Sam who held tightly to it. "Is there anything else?" She asked, glancing at each face.

Each one slowly shook their heads before standing and walking slowly from the office. "What's in the envelope, Dean?" Jo asked as they drew closer to the door.

"I don't know.." Dean admitted, scared to open it. He'd gotten as far as holding it within his hands and seeing his fathers handwriting on the front and couldn't push himself further.

Jo smiled knowingly before patting him on the back as they exited the office.

–

Everyone had gone their separate ways when they left the office, Dean had asked Lisa to take Ben back to his house until they finished at the bank. Bobby had agreed to meet them back at Dean's as well while Dick had stormed away, obviously irritated that he hadn't gotten more of the company. Jo, Kevin and Jessica returned to Dean's as well, letting the brother's take the drive to the bank alone.

Normally Dean would have protested anyone but himself driving, but as soon as they had stepped into the sunshine the envelope from his father seemed even heavier than before and he wanted a few minutes alone with his thoughts. Sam drove with Adam in the passenger seat while Dean leaned against the back door, staring hard at his own name in his father's hand. _'Just open it.' _He commanded himself and quickly found that he couldn't obey it. The sheer thought of reading whatever his father had written actually hurt. Better to save it for later when he was actually alone.

"Bet dad left us something pretty cool." Adam was saying when Dean finally tuned back into his brothers conversation.

"Like what?" Sam asked, perking a brow.

"I don't know.. what would dad have that he couldn't just leave in the will and was so secretive about?" Adam asked in response. "What do you think?" He shifted enough in the seat to look back at his elder brother.

Dean quickly stuffed the envelope into his jacket pocket and shrugged. "Better question is: did mom know it was there?"

The question was obviously enough to shut everyone up until Sam pulled the car to a stop in front of the bank. All three found it difficult to open the doors, to take that first step in finding out what was hiding within the box inside. Finally, Sam couldn't take it any longer and climbed quickly from the vehicle and waved his brothers to continue.

As expected, each had to show an ID to get in, but the woman behind the counter offered a sympathetic smile and showed them to a small square room, then told them to wait while she collected their box. When she returned, she set a fairly large metal box onto the wooden table and took a step back. "I hope you have the key because we don't carry spares for them."

"We've got it." Sam replied, holding up the key.

"Well, take as much time as you need. Simply lock the box again when you are finished, then come and tell me so that I can put it away again." She said while backing out the door. When it was closed the brothers looked at the box for a long time, frowning darkly.

"Ready?" Sam asked, looking down at each of his brothers in turn.

"As I'll ever be," was Adam's reply. Dean merely shook his head. He wasn't, but they needed to see what was inside. He knew that if he were alone in this the box would sit on that table for hours, still locked, before he could decide whether to open it or simply walk away and come back later. Sam unlocked the metal box with a click that seemed to resound through the room for a long time afterward, then slowly flicked the lid open.

Slowly the brothers leaned, together, over the box to peer at the contents.

"Books?" Adam asked indignantly.

"Journals." Sam replied after having picked one up, "and ledgers from the company. Shouldn't these have gone to Bobby?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Dean answered, flicking through one of the journals and seeing rows upon rows of his fathers handwriting. "This one dates all the way back to when he was in the Marines."

"And this one is two weeks ago." Sam said while looking at a date and nothing more.

"What's this?" The youngest brother asked while plucking a thick yellow envelope that had been tucked into the side of the deposit box, almost unseen. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the envelope and flicked through several of the papers within before passing it to Sam. "You know more about this."

Sam grabbed the envelope and looked at the top page, then shook his head with a frown on his lips. "It's documents on the shop." He stated, flipping through the pages

"Sam." Dean called in his gruff voice while looking at the journals, unfortunately his younger brother seemed to be lost in his reading. He waited semi-patiently for several moments, then called for his brother again, this time louder causing both of his younger siblings to turn toward him. "I don't think mom and dad's death was an accident." He said grimly.

* * *

**I know it ends with a somewhat cliffhanger, but that was meant to be!**


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